| Making sales appointments is an essential part of | | | | sales appointment to perform. What this means |
| the sales process in all direct selling situations. You | | | | is, do not attempt to sell your products. Sell the |
| need a sales appointment to give us a platform | | | | appointment. The value statements you will make |
| where you can apply your excellent consultative | | | | are the benefits to the prospect of YOU sitting in |
| sales skills to the advantage of both parties. But | | | | front of him. |
| making those awful sales appointment calls! Who | | | | To prepare for your batch of calls, prepare a list |
| wants that much rejection? They do not even | | | | of benefits of the APPOINTMENT. Why is it good |
| give you a chance! | | | | for the prospect to spend 30 minutes of his time |
| Secret Number 1 - Use Active Motivators | | | | with you? What will he gain? Why will he be |
| You do not like making sales appointments? | | | | better off? Practice each one of these aloud, |
| No-one does, and you never will! Do not even | | | | using strong positive benefit language. Then |
| TRY to like making sales appointments. | | | | choose the right ones to use on your calls today. |
| Appointment selling will never give you the | | | | Secret Number 3 - This is a Short Focussed Call |
| pleasure that a good sales meeting can generate. | | | | The successful sales appointment call is short. By |
| You will never get that satisfying buzz of sales | | | | that we do not mean rushed. On the contrary, |
| skills well used. Even a successful sales | | | | the beginning of the call, as you introduce |
| appointment call, where the prospect is happy to | | | | yourself, should be confident and gently paced. |
| see you, will be a brief and an unsatisfying | | | | Your typical call structure should be something like |
| telephone call. This means that a successful sales | | | | - |
| appointment call is not in itself a motivator. You | | | | 1. Who you are, your name |
| must look for other ways to motivate yourself | | | | 2. Who your Company is, your Company name |
| to make these calls. | | | | together with a one line promotion statement. |
| Plan each batch of appointment calls carefully. | | | | Here we are impressing the prospect, giving them |
| Make a list of prospects, and make sure it is long | | | | a positive reason why they should bother taking |
| enough to allow for the multitude of no answer or | | | | the call from that Company. |
| voice mails. Set yourself very clear goals for each | | | | 3. Your reason for calling today. You have |
| session, and vary the goals from one session to | | | | wonderful products, or you are in the |
| the next. Variety in goal focus is more motivating | | | | neighbourhood, are NOT good reasons why a |
| than always having the same target. For example | | | | busy person should see you. You want to present |
| you might set a target of 60 dials in one session, | | | | a one line teaser that will be of benefit to this |
| 20 contacts in the next and 3 appointments in the | | | | Customer. It could be as simple as, we have just |
| third. Work efficiently and effectively until you | | | | launched a new range of products, or, we have |
| achieve your target, and then give yourself a nice | | | | revised our pricing schedule to offer more cost |
| reward! Again vary the reward, a different | | | | effective solutions. The reason you are calling |
| reward for each day or each week. The idea is to | | | | today, HAS to be a definite reason. |
| really work at giving you active motivators to | | | | 4. Engaging question. You have done all the talking |
| foster success. | | | | up to now, so it is time for the prospect to be |
| Secret Number 2 - Sell the Appointment, not the | | | | involved. You want one question open question |
| Product | | | | that will illicit some information, but will not allow |
| Most direct sales people work on a consultative | | | | the prospect to shut down the call. This must be |
| sales type approach, where you are doing a | | | | a very specific question for your line of business, |
| thorough fact find and offering which of your | | | | and you really only want to get the prospect to |
| products or services will add value to your client's | | | | say a one line response. |
| needs. There are lots of questions, and a good | | | | 5. Sell the benefits of the Meeting. Here we ask |
| deal of selling the value of your products. In direct | | | | for 30 minutes of their time, and give 2 to 3 |
| selling, this is good. In selling an appointment, this is | | | | benefits of this meeting. |
| NOT good. | | | | 6. Go straight to gain agreement. Move |
| Remember that when the phone rings at your | | | | immediately to a close, offering a range of times |
| prospect's desk, you will drop in unannounced. It | | | | and days |
| would be totally inappropriate, therefore, to begin | | | | Practice your sales appointment calls until you get |
| the conversation with a load of questions. This will | | | | the timing right. Remember it is short, driving |
| trigger a justifiable negative reaction. Equally, if | | | | towards the close very quickly. When you get it |
| you try to sell the benefits of your products on | | | | right, record it so that you can capture the |
| the telephone call, why should the prospect | | | | language and feel of the successful appointment |
| bother seeing you? Remember your skills lie in the | | | | call. |
| direct sales meeting, and you really need that | | | | |